Theatrical releases
| Date | Film |
| March 6 | The Devil and Max Devlin |
| March 20 | Amy |
| April 3 | Alice in Wonderland (re-issue) |
| June 19 | The Great Muppet Caper |
| June 26 | Dragonslayer (co-production with Paramount) |
| July 10 | The Fox and the Hound |
| August 7 | Condorman |
| October 9 | The Watcher in the Woods (official version) |
| December 18 | Cinderella (re-issue) |
Books
Artists Joined
- Kathy Zielinski - Animator on Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Frozen.
- Rick Farmiloe - Animator on Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Great Mouse Detective and The Rescuers Down Under.
- David Pruiksma - Supervising Animator on The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Pocahontas.
- Barry Cook - Director/Effects Animator who worked on Mulan (Director), Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid. Began his career as an effects animator on Tron.
- Andrew Phillipson - Background Designer on The Little Mermaid, The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver & Company.
- Wes Chun - Assistant Animator on The Lion King, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and Mulan.
- Brian Clift - Assistant animator on The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid.
- Terrey Hamada - Assistant Animator on The Little Mermaid, The Great Mouse Detective, Oliver & Company and The Black Cauldron.
- Martin Korth - Lead Key Assistant Animator on Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid.
- Lureline Weatherly - Key Assistant on The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Great Mouse Detective and The Princess and the Frog.
- David Stephan - Animator on films such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King.
- Stephan Zupkas - Key Assistant on The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid.
Home video releases
- June 26 - Dumbo (rental only), The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (rental only), The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, Davy Crockett and the River Pirates, The Absent-Minded Professor, Gus, The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, Snow White Live at Radio City Music Hall, and Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck Cartoon Collections Volumes 1, 2, and 3.
- October 15 - A Dream Called Walt Disney World, Alice in Wonderland (rental only), Old Yeller, Darby `O Gill and the Little People, Amy, Treasure Island, Herbie Rides Again, The Shaggy Dog, Goofy Over Sports, Pollyanna, A Walt Disney Christmas, The Sign of Zorro, Condorman, Blackbeard's Ghost, The Devil and Max Devlin, A tale of two critters, and The Watcher in the Woods.
Events
- After 26 years, the last Disney animated feature to use the Buena Vista logo was The Fox and the Hound.
People
Births
- January 1 - Eden Riegel (actress)
- January 5 - deadmau5 (music producer and performer)
- January 26 - Colin O'Donoghue (actor)
- January 28 - Elijah Wood (actor)
- January 31 - Justin Timberlake (actor and singer)
- February 9 - Tom Hiddleston (actor)
- February 14 - Erin Torpey (voice actor)
- February 17 - Joseph Gordon-Levitt (actor)
- February 23 - Josh Gad (actor)
- March 2 - Bryce Dallas Howard (actress, writer and director)
- March 29 - Megan Hilty (stage and television actress)
- April 8 - Taylor Kitsch (actor)
- April 19 - Hayden Christensen (actor)
- May 5 - Danielle Fishel (actress)
- May 28 - Laura Bailey (voice actress, actress, ADR director, line producer)
- June 4 - T. J. Miller (actor and stand-up comedian)
- June 9 - Natalie Portman (actress)
- June 13 - Chris Evans (actor)
- August 3 - Travis Willingham (actor and voice actor)
- August 4 - Abigail Spencer (actress)
- August 8 - Roger Federer (tennis player)
- August 14 - Kofi Sarkodie-Mensah (professional wrestler and actor)
- August 20 - Ben Barnes (actor)
- August 24 - Chad Michael Murray (actor)
- September 4 - Beyoncé Knowles (singer and actress)
- September 8 - Jonathan Taylor Thomas (actor)
- September 9 - Julie Gonzalo (actress)
- September 12 - Jennifer Hudson (actress, singer, and spokesgirl)
- September 15 - Ben Schwartz (actor, comedian, and writer)
- September 16 - Alexis Bledel (actress, model and producer)
- September 21 - Michael Adamthwaite (Canadian voice actor)
- September 22 - Ashley Eckstein (film and television actress)
- September 22 - Katie Lowes (actress and voice artist)
- September 26 - Christina Milian (singer and actress)
- November 14 - Russell Tovey (English actor)
- November 18 - Christina Vidal (actress)
- December 2 - Britney Spears (singer)
- December 3 - Brian Bonsall (actor)
- December 15 - Victoria Summer (actress, model, and singer-songwriter)
- December 16 - Krysten Ritter (actress, musician, and model)
- December 18 - Josh Dallas (actor)
- December 27 - Emilie de Ravin (actress)
Deaths
- January 16 - Bernard Lee (actor)
- March 16 - Bill Baucom (actor)
- April 16 - Berneice Hansell (cartoon voice actor)
- November 25 - Jack Albertson (actor)
Artists Joined
- Kathy Zielinski - Animator on Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Frozen.
- Rick Farmiloe - Animator on Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Great Mouse Detective and The Rescuers Down Under.
- David Pruiksma - Supervising Animator on The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Pocahontas.
- Barry Cook - Director/Effects Animator who worked on Mulan (Director), Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid. Began his career as an effects animator on TRON.
- Matthew O'Callaghan - Director and Animator who worked on The Little Mermaid, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Great Mouse Detective.
- Andrew Phillipson - Background Designer on The Little Mermaid, The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver & Company.
- Wes Chun - Assistant Animator on The Lion King, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and Mulan.
- Brian Clift - Assistant animator on The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid.
- Terrey Hamada - Assistant Animator on The Little Mermaid, The Great Mouse Detective, Oliver & Company and The Black Cauldron.
- Martin Korth - Lead Key Assistant Animator on Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid.
- Lureline Weatherly - Key Assistant on The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Great Mouse Detective and The Princess and the Frog.
- David Stephan - Animator on films such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King.
- Stephan Zupkas - Key Assistant on The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid.
1981